The last 5 years have seen a revolution in the nature and genesis of the petroleum systems driving the worldwide hydrocarbon market, increasing emphasis on unconventional resources, particularly artificially stimulated shale reservoirs. In a low hydrocarbon price environment, technology must be made more efficient and reservoir management more targeted for such petroleum systems to remain competitive relative to mature conventional resources. One such technology is the ability to characterize shale pore and mineral structures using high resolution 3D Focused Ion Beam – Scanning Electron Microscopy (FIB-SEM).